The Hindu : Guessing game on Congress reshuffle

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 21, 2003

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Guessing game on Congress reshuffle

By Sujay Mehdudia

NEW DELHI JAN. 20. It is back to the cat-and-mouse game in the Delhi unit of the Congress. Recent speculation about possible changes in the organisation's set-up and the Delhi Cabinet has triggered off intense lobbying and efforts are being made by rivals to run each other down in a effort to secure some position in the party or the Government.

Although speculation about a change of guard has been in the air for some time, the Congress high command has added fuel to fire by maintaining total secrecy over the matter. Talk of a possible reshuffle in the Cabinet and organisation has suddenly made everyone, including senior leaders and ministerial aspirants hyperactive. Right from the Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, to the AICC leaders, including the general secretary in charge of Delhi, Kamal Nath, party leaders are these days surrounded by MLAs, local leaders and their supporters to plead some case or the other.

Party insiders say that infighting is on the rise and once again caste and community combinations are being played up to catch the attention of those who matter. But all this certainly does not augur well for the Sheila Dikshit Government as it would put a question mark over its performance and the claims that it had done very well in the past four years. "By carrying out a Cabinet reshuffle at this juncture, what message is the party or the leadership trying to put across to the electorate. Any major changes at this crucial time would only hurt the party and Government. It will not go down well with the masses and would certainly give a stick in the hands of an already belligerent BJP to beat the Government with,'' a veteran leader remarked.

Sources said the Delhi Government has been highlighting the achievements of its Government in the past four years by projecting the Cabinet and Government as a "Delhi Team'' that had done outstanding work. But once again to make major changes in the Cabinet would be conceding that all this hype was nothing but hollow claims. Not only this, it would also put a question mark over the "merit certificate'' given by the Congress leadership time and again to the Sheila Dikshit Government.

Any major disruption in the "Delhi Team'' at this time would belittle the Congress claims of good governance and generate an impression that all is not well within the Government and the party.

Furthermore, many party men are of the view that the Congress high command should act fast before things get out of control. Be it the senior party leaders or the party MLAs, every one is busy trying to impress the various leaders about their potential and efficiency. "Although nothing might come out of this entire exercise, it would certainly have created bad blood which is not good for the party in an election year. Any divergent views or serious difference of opinion is something the party has to avoid during a crucial election year. But that does not seem to be happening and things are going from bad to worse. The leadership should plug speculations and convey what its intentions are to put an end to this round of mud slinging within the party,'' a senior Minister remarked.

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